Every home in the borough will be sent a survey asking what the council's priorities should be under new plans to shake-up the way the authority works.

The Conservatives promised to conduct an “All in One” consultation if they won power in May and details for the scheme are set to be agreed by the borough’s executive on September 6.

If it is ratified at the cabinet meeting a survey will be sent to every household - about 100,000 in total - in the borough in October and November.

The surveys will ask for views on the council and priorities for their areas, with the results being published early in 2011.

Councillor Pamela Fleming, Richmond Council cabinet member for community development, said: “We have promised to change the way the council works, putting local people at the heart of everything we do.

“We want to listen to what people want and involve them in making decisions about their areas.

“The All in One is central to this undertaking.

“The survey will give us a clear understanding of people’s priorities and what they expect from us.”

The cabinet is set to agree up to £95,000 in funding for the consultation - with £35,000 of that being spent on publicity before it startst.

The final survey will be agreed by Coun Fleming and Councillor Nick True, Richmond Council leader.

The authority plans to use money saved from the axed Arcadia magazine and cash spent on area consultation meetings (ACMs) to help pay for the scheme.

The cabinet is separately considering a plan to scrap ACMs, which were first introduced in 1984, as they are considered to be poorly attended.

It is thought the results of the All in One survey - which is set to produce a series of village plans for what is needed in the borough from 2011/12 onwards - will do the same job.

However, Richmond Council has admitted it only expects a 5 to 10 per cent response rate to the survey.

Coun Fleming promised to listen and act on people's views.

She added: “We intend for the All in One to be truly groundbreaking.

“Asking all our residents what their priorities are in this way is unusual itself. But this is only the beginning.

"We want to work with people to shape the way services are delivered so that they meet real local needs as resources become ever more limited."